NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE 280 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017 (212) 450-2000 * FAX (212) 681-7573 WWW.NFLMedia.com Joe Browne, Executive Vice President-Communications Greg Aiello, Vice President-Public Relations FOR USE AS DESIRED AFC-POW-9 11/9/05 COLTS QB PEYTON MANNING, BENGALS LB BRIAN SIMMONS & BROWNS P KYLE RICHARDSON NAMED AFC PLAYERS OF WEEK 9 Quarterback PEYTON MANNING of the Indianapolis Colts, linebacker BRIAN SIMMONS of the Cincinnati Bengals and punter KYLE RICHARDSON of the Cleveland Browns are the AFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played the ninth week of the 2005 season (November 6-7), the NFL announced today. OFFENSE: QB PEYTON MANNING, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS • With three touchdown passes before a national audience on Monday night against a team he had not beaten on the road in seven previous tries, Colts quarterback PEYTON MANNING guided his team to a decisive 40-21 win against the Patriots at Foxborough to keep the club’s perfect record (8-0) intact. Manning’s precision passing led him to complete 28 of 37 attempts (75.7 percent) for 321 yards en route to three TD passes against one interception for a 117.1 passer rating. On the second play from scrimmage, Manning connected with MARVIN HARRSION for a 48-yard strike to set up a one-yard TD pass to Harrison three plays later. The New Orleans native completed nine passes each to wideouts Harrison and REGGIE WAYNE. Manning, the NFL’s third-ranked passer (101.2), completed his other two TD passes to Wayne (10 yards) and another to Harrison (30 yards). Indianapolis scored on seven of eight possessions and did not punt until 1:16 remained in the game. In his eighth year from Tennessee, this is the 12th Player of the Week award of Manning’s career and his fifth such honor since the start of the 2004 season. DEFENSE: LB BRIAN SIMMONS, CINCINNATI BENGALS • Cincinnati linebacker BRIAN SIMMONS posted nine tackles, including a sack for a 13-yard loss, and defensed two passes in a 21-9 win at Baltimore to lift the Bengals to a 7-2 record, good for first place in the AFC North. The eight-year pro from the University of North Carolina recorded his sack and caused a fumble on the game's second play and four of Simmons’ nine tackles were within three yards of the line of scrimmage. The 6-3, 244-pounder from New Bern, NC was part of a defense that did not yield a touchdown, limiting the Ravens to 240 total scrimmage yards and five-of-14 (35.7) on third down conversion tries. The Bengals yielded only 49 rushing yards to Baltimore running back JAMAL LEWIS – the first time in eight career meetings that Cincinnati limited Lewis to fewer than 100. This is the second Player of the Week honor for Simmons. He is the second Bengals player this season to win the AFC’s weekly defensive award (CB DELTHA O’NEAL, Week 2). SPECIAL TEAMS: P KYLE RICHARDSON, CLEVELAND BROWNS • Amid wind gusts off of Lake Erie varying from 18 to 40 miles per hour, Cleveland punter KYLE RICHARDSON punted five times for 203 yards (40.6 average) and pinned three of his five punts inside the 20 in a 20-14 home victory against Tennessee. In a tight game where field position was paramount, the former NFL Europe standout booted two of his five punts inside Tennessee’s 10-yard line, including a key punt downed at the seven-yard line with 3:35 left in regulation while Cleveland nursed a six-point lead. Richardson also recorded one special teams tackle on the day. In his eighth season from Arkansas State, this is the first Player of the Week distinction for Richardson. The Farmington, MO native is Cleveland’s first punter to earn the weekly honor since TOM TUPA in Week 5 of 1994. 2005 AFC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Offense Defense Special Teams Wk 1 RB Willie Parker, Pittsburgh LB Gary Brackett, Indianapolis K Josh Scobee, Jacksonville Wk 2 QB Trent Dilfer, Cleveland CB Deltha O’Neal, Cincinnati P Hunter Smith, Indianapolis Wk 3 RB LaDainian Tomlinson, SD S Lance Schulters, Miami K Adam Vinatieri, New England Wk 4 QB Drew Brees, San Diego LB Al Wilson, Denver K Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland Wk 5 QB Tom Brady, NE DT Dewayne Robertson, NY K Josh Scobee, Jacksonville Wk 6 RB LaDainian Tomlinson, SD DE Jared Allen, Kansas City P Todd Sauerbrun, Denver Wk 7 RB LaMont Jordan, Oakland DE Robert Mathis, Indianapolis K Lawrence Tynes, Kansas City Wk 8 QB Jake Plummer, Denver LB Tedy Bruschi, New England KR-WR Jerome Mathis, Houston Wk 9 QB Peyton Manning, Ind. LB Brian Simmons, Cincinnati P Kyle Richardson, Cleveland Other nominees for AFC Offensive Player of Week 9 were: • New England quarterback TOM BRADY, who threw three touchdowns without an interception and completed 22 of 33 passes for 265 yards for a passer rating of 121.4. It was his 29th career game with a passer rating over 100.0 and the first time that he finished with a passer rating over 100.0 and lost. • Cleveland running back REUBEN DROUGHNS, who totaled 116 rushing yards on 20 carries (5.8-yard average) and caught four passes for 73 yards (18.3-yard average), including a career-high 51-yard reception for 189 total scrimmage yards in a 20-14 win against Tennessee. • Indianapolis receiver MARVIN HARRISON, who caught a pair of touchdowns on nine receptions for 128 yards (14.2-yard average). • Kansas City running back LARRY JOHNSON, who ran for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 22 carries in a 27-23 win against Oakland. Johnson also totaled 48 receiving yards, including a 36-yard catch and run with 19 seconds remaining to get the ball to Oakland’s one-yard line. On the next play – and the last play of the game – Johnson scored his second TD on a one-yard plunge as time expired to give the Chiefs a four-point victory. • Cincinnati quarterback CARSON PALMER, who registered a passer rating of 128.4 with two touchdowns without an interception on 19 of 26 (73.1 percent) passing in a 21-9 win at Baltimore. • San Diego running back LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON, who posted a career-high four TDs and 107 rushing yards on 25 carries and added three catches for 46 yards, including a 25-yard TD reception, in a 31-26 road win against the New York Jets. Other nominees for AFC Defensive Player of Week 9 were: • Cleveland linebacker ANDRA DAVIS, who led his team with 10 tackles and 1.0 sack, which he registered on fourth down to halt a fourth-quarter Titans possession. • Pittsburgh linebacker LARRY FOOTE, who paced the Steelers with 12 tackles in a 20-10 win against Green Bay at Lambeau Field. Foote led a defensive effort that limited the Packers to 65 yards rushing and held quarterback BRETT FAVRE without a TD pass at home for the first time in 27 games. • Kansas City linebacker KAWIKA MITCHELL, who notched six tackles and 1.0 sack. • San Diego linebacker SHAUN PHILLIPS, who racked up a career-high 2.0 sacks and a tackle for a loss. Phillips finished the game with five tackles on defense and an additional tackle on special teams. Other nominees for AFC Special Teams Player of Week 9 were: • Kansas City rookie punter DUSTIN COLQUITT, who punted five times for 209 yards with three punts inside the 20. • San Diego rookie kick returner-running back DARREN SPROLES, who returned six kickoffs for 145 yards for a 24.2-yard average. Sproles recorded a long return of 50 yards. .